Rico Verhoeven is not backing down after his dramatic loss to Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt.
Less than 24 hours after their heavyweight clash near the Pyramids of Giza, the kickboxing star revealed he plans to appeal the 11th-round stoppage that ended his upset bid against the unified boxing champion.
The finish immediately divided fans online. Many believed the referee stepped in too quickly as Verhoeven covered up along the ropes while Usyk unloaded punches late in the round.
Verhoeven questions timing of stoppage
Speaking after reviewing the sequence, Verhoeven said the ending became even more confusing once he rewatched the footage. He told Boxing News:
“I just saw the end of the fight because of all the comments I was reading, and they stopped the fight after the bell [rang],”
“So the bell went, and then they stopped the fight. So yeah, I think we might just go and appeal it because this doesn’t make any sense, right?”
“Like if the bell goes and then stops the fight, then why? It’s my time to rest.”
The Dutch striker had already voiced frustration inside the ring moments after the bout ended.
“Yeah, of course I thought it was an early stoppage, but in the end, it’s not up to me,”
“Still, I found it a little bit early.”
“Let me go out on my shield or let the bell go.”
“Why did you stop it?”’
Verhoeven admitted the standing eight-count earlier in the exchange was justified. Still, he insists he remained aware and defensively responsible when the fight was waved off.
“Yeah, I got the eight-count. It was a good eight-count. It was needed.”
“But I heard the [clapper], so I was like, ‘F—k, we got ten seconds, keep on the move, hands up and catch the shots.’ And I feel like that’s what I was doing.”
“That’s why, when the referee came in, I wasn’t dazzled or whatever. I was looking at the referee like, ‘Why did you stop it? We’re almost there.’”
Scorecards add more fuel
The official scorecards only intensified debate around the stoppage. Despite seeming to dominate most of the fight, Verhoeven was ahead on only one judge’s card at the start of the 11th round. The other two officials had the fight scored even at 95-95, leaving the bout wide open heading into the closing stages.
Despite the outrage online, reversing boxing results through appeals rarely happens. That leaves Verhoeven facing long odds if he wants the outcome changed to a no contest or decision.
“Of course, mistakes can be made, but looking back at it, the referee needs to admit his mistake,”
“It’s either a no contest or we go to the scorecards, and if we do that, I was ahead.”
For the moment, Oleksandr Usyk appears to be headed toward a mandatory WBC title defense against unbeaten challenger Agit Kabayel.